Yfat Yossifor | Post commander 1st Lt. John Card in front of the new Michigan State Police Tri-City Post on Salzburg between M-47 and Flajole Road in Williams Township.

WILLIAMS TOWNSHIP, MI — A new Michigan State Police post is on the cusp of opening in western Bay County, and state police who serve Midland, Bay and Saginaw counties are gearing up to make the transition.

First Lt. John Card, currently the commander of the Bay City Post at 405 N. Euclid Ave., will oversee operations at the new Tri-City Post.

The post combines the operations of the Bay City and former Bridgeport Michigan State Police posts.

Card answered some qustions about the upcoming facility change and what it means for area law enforcement.

MLive: What are you most looking forward to with this new post?

Card: Bringing both posts together under the regional concept and having all personnel under one roof.

MLive: Why was this new post necessary?

Card: The original (Bay City) post was built through the years of 1934, 1935. The post itself was deteriorating, the mortar was coming out between the bricks, and it was in need of repair. The roof itself was looked at and evaluated. It was going to cost $40,000 to replace or repair the roof. That is one of the reasons that they talked about maybe looking at a new facility rather than putting a lot of money into repairs of the old one.

MLive: Is this the only new post being built in Michigan?

Card: No, there is a facility in Brighton; the post down there is being replaced. There is one in the works for Marshall, which will replace the Battle Creek Post, but that’s just in the early stages of planning at this point.

MLive: How will this improve law enforcement for the three counties — Saginaw, Bay and Midland?

Card: It’s a centralized location. The post itself, the physical location, will serve three counties for years to come. It is on the main thoroughfares and should there be any traffic backups, we’ve got adjacent roadways that will allow us to travel back and forth without giving up our service model.

MLive: So the Bay City Post, that’s not going to be a detachment?

Card: No, we’re close enough. We’ve got troopers also working out of the City of Saginaw Police Department.

MLive: The last $500,000 secured for the project, bumping it from $3.2 million to $3.7 million, that wasn’t used exclusively for troopers’ lockers, was it?

Card: Absolutely not. It was a total building project. The (initial) project total cost was $3.2 million. When they figured everything out, the architect for the Department of Technology, Management and Budget and engineers settled on a figure of $3.2 million. A shortfall was noticed and an amended appropriation was then given to make sure the post was finished. There was not an upgrade. When they started to look at the numbers … there was a stall in the project because as the architect came to the finished drawings and added up all the numbers, it was $3.7; it wasn’t going to come under $3.2.

The entire project, when it was evaluated by the Department of Technology, Management and Budget, a figure of $5 million was placed on this project. However, with the gracious and generous donation of Dow Corning Corp., with the partnership with Williams Township to assist in putting our utilities out here at a reduced cost, it allowed us to come in at this $3.7 million. So actually, this $3.7 million is $1.3 million less than what the Department of Technology, Management and Budget would have put as a final figure.

MLive: Is there a dedication ceremony planned for the new post?

Card: The dedication of the building will be determined by Col. (Kriste Kibbey) Etue and she will let us know when that date will be. We will make sure everybody is notified of it and, if they’re interested, it will be open to the public. We’ll get that date out as soon as we can.

MLive: Is it going to be dedicated to any fallen troopers?

Card: We in law enforcement have rich traditions and we will never forget our fallen officers, so there will be a memorial wall here. We’ve had three troopers killed in the line of duty out of this post (troopers Delos Williams, killed in traffic crash 1929; Ralph Broullire, drowned saving two boys from an ice floe in 1943; and Jeffrey Werda, killed in traffic crash April 6, 2011).

Card: It was never intended to make up. This building was in place. The appropriation started in 2008, so this building was only intended to house the Bay City Post. The proper planning was in place in the event more troopers were to be posted here. Not ever having a static number, we always plan for the future, so we planned for an additional number of troopers and fluctuation. There was enough planning for us to consolidate here. It doesn’t necessarily take the place of all of those posts; it was intended to do that.

The intention of our department, in this regional policing concept, is to put our troopers on the road, not in the building. Again, buildings don’t save lives; it’s the troopers themselves. We want to get them in the public and that’s why the technology is from the buildings, to the cars, right out on the streets.

MLive: For lack of a better term, what do you think is the coolest aspect of this new building?

Card: There is ample room. The conference room was designed so that it could also be a training room. The tables can be moved over and it’s a multi-purpose room; it’s no longer just a conference room. Some of our refresher courses that we need to take — our first aid, our defensive tactics — those all can be accomplished here on site now. Prior to construction, we tried to figure in and make sense to take every cent out of every dollar, to not just look at one purpose but at multiple purposes for everything.

MLive: Are there any holding cells here?

Card: Yes, that’s another new feature. We’ll have two holding cells and we never had that before. I need to stress these are only holding cells. They’re not intended to house people. They’re temporary in nature, just for while (suspects) are being interviewed.

MLive: Is there going to be a garage for the patrol cars and vehicles?